![]() ![]() Start by asking questions about your parents, grandparents, and, if possible, great-grandparents and beyond that will reveal foundational knowledge. Asking them to identify people or places in old photos, for example, can be a catalyst for stories and leads. Plus, if you treasure hunt first and interview second, you will have artifacts to talk about with your relatives. “The family histories stored in their brains can save you so much trouble down the road.”Įven if you’ve heard family facts-and legends- your entire life, really taking the time to interview your elders armed with a digital recorder and specific questions will refresh your memory and reveal new details. “Your older relatives-even those who are just 20 minutes older than you-are living libraries,” says Smolenyak. Explain what you are doing and why, invite them to participate, and respect their wishes for how any item you discover will be handled, copied, or stored. Tip: If your hunt involves searching through artifacts in relatives’ homes, involve them in the process, if possible. Family memorabilia to look for (and photograph if you do not have permission from the owner to take the item) include old pictures, military records, diplomas and report cards, and of course diaries, postcards, and letters. Smolenyak suggests focusing your hunt in the attic, basement, and drawers where photos, documents, and personal correspondence may be stored. And, like detectives, these ancestry experts know that some of the most valuable clues in any quest often are hiding in plain sight-at home. Professional genealogists are seasoned detectives: They look for clues, notice patterns, conduct research, and collect data to methodically solve mysteries and uncover family histories. Tip: To manage your family tree on the go, choose a software program or online database that has a companion mobile app, such RootsMagic or. ![]() Since Ancestry subscribers have created more than 60 million family trees, some of those existing branches might prove valuable in your own search. Several free and fee-based online genealogical databases are available, including, the world’s largest online family history resource. To save and organize everything you find, choose an online genealogical database before you start conducting research. The early weeks of your search will likely bear abundant fruit, since it’s often easiest to gather facts about close relatives. Genealogy expert Megan Smolenyak, the sleuth who uncovered Barack Obama’s Irish ancestry, describes visiting one’s ancestral home as one of life’s few “universally moving experiences.” Here are eight steps to get you started on your own journey home. You will get to know your ancestors in a more intimate and meaningful way. The payoff for all this detective work is nothing less than time traveling through your family history. The search to learn more about your ancestors-who they were, where they came from, what happened to them, and why-starts in conversations with relatives, in the attic or basement rifling through old photos and documents, at the local library or archives researching vital records, or online mining genealogy websites. Easily add photos of family members, too.Learn about your own family history with National Geographic’s Geno 2.0 DNA ancestry kit.Įvery “journey home” begins at home. Apply professionally designed themes to give your family tree a custom look. To make sure your family tree chart always look good, SmartDraw keeps all the boxes properly aligned and connected, automatically. SmartDraw guides you through the process of adding new family members and making sure they are positioned correctly in the tree. Open your selected family tree template and start entering information. Browse the examples to get an idea of the style of family tree you would like to make and how it might look. ![]() Simply open one up and start adding information. ![]() Family trees are commonly presented with the oldest generations at the top and the newer generations at the bottom.įamily tree templates from SmartDraw are so easy to use there's virtually no learning curve. Family trees are powerful genealogy charts that organize and retain historical data related to genealogy by illustrating ancestry, descent and relationship of all members of a family or other genealogical group. ![]()
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